The Montreux Jazz Festival has chartered a curious evolution since its debut run back in the summer of 1967.
Originally centred almost purely on what can only be regarded as jazz, the festival opened its door to a wider selection of artists throughout the eighties. In recent years the event has attracted an ever more disparate selection of acts with performers as extreme as Ice-T and freeform art-metallers Fantomas on the bill. Last year’s line-up continued the progression with attendees able to catch everyone from Gnarls Barkley to Sigur Ros.
In that context, it’s fitting that a defiantly unstereotypical artist such as Run DMC should have their set documented for prosperity. The set – one of the last before the tragic death of Jam Master Jay the following year – is suitably exuberant as they tear through classics such as ‘It’s Like That’, ‘Walk This Way’ and ‘King Of Rock’. It’s a fitting tribute.
